


the innocence in glamour

by jaeministie



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Alternate Universe - Rich Kids, Bullying, Implied Sexual Content, Implied/Referenced Self-Harm, Multi, Murder, Suicidal Thoughts, Underage Drinking, Underage Smoking, but the theme remains murder so don't read if you're uncomfortable!, cursing, everyone is 17 here!, guess who's the murderer, slight polyamory, some dark stuff but nothing gore/gross
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-06-14
Updated: 2019-06-22
Packaged: 2020-04-07 05:52:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 2
Words: 8,073
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19078810
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jaeministie/pseuds/jaeministie
Summary: "For how long have you known Donghyuck?" was the first question the police inspectors had asked the students who had been the closest to the victim.They had to figure out whom of Jeno, Mark, Renjun, Jaemin, Lucas, Ten or Yeeun had murdered the teenager.And for that, they had to understand what had gone down during Senior year.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> so here I'm back with a new fic! I've been having so many different ideas but I've been watching Netflix's Elite recently and I just loved the mood so I decided to write something inspired by it!
> 
> keep in mind that this is fictional and that I don't wish death upon anyone and I don't actually hate any of the NCT members mentioned in this fic!
> 
> (also the title is a lyric that comes from CLC's new song)
> 
> this is going to be a bit long and I'll post in italics the memories of the characters and in regular form the present events! hope this won't be too confusing !! also the murderer will be revealed at the end of the fic so feel free to place your bets in the comments haha 
> 
> enjoy~~~

The sight in front of him was almost unbearable.

 

First, blood. Its smell, its metallic and horrible smell filled the gymnasium and was dripping down the stairs of the supporter's benches.

 

The body, too, was a frightful sight. Its eyes were half-lidded, while blood formed a halo all around the head, staining the locks and turning them to dark red. One of its legs was bent in an unimaginable angle.

 

Lee Donghyuck was laying there, _dead_.

 

The student who had found him stood there in shock, before screaming as hard as he could, falling to his knees. Never would he have imagined such a thing would happen.

 

Soon enough, the entire school gathered in the gymnasium. Some of them had managed to see the body but the teachers and the security team rapidly blocked the way to the bleachers. The police and the paramedics came afterwards, and after having taken hundreds of pictures of the scene, the body was taken away.

 

The police then went to see the school's director, who knew that a huge wave of trouble was incoming. However, nothing could have had prepared him for what he was told.

 

"Lee Donghyuck has been murdered."

\---

  
  
"For how long have you known Donghyuck?" was the first question the police inspectors had asked the students who had been the closest to the victim.

 

"You're not obliged to answer," Lee Jeno's lawyer patted the latter's shoulder. The young male nodded to him, but still went on answering.

 

"For less than a year. To be really honest, I had never heard of him before he joined the student council during senior year," his answer was calm, well thought out and charismatic. You couldn't expect less from the son of the town's mayor.

 

Mark Lee was less calm when he answered. His hands were shaking, and his eyes were lost, wandering from the wall to his lap again and again. His lawyer had yet to arrive.

 

"I … We … He was such a nice person. I can't believe he is … he is…" Mark was still under the shock but the police officer showed no compassion.

 

"We need a clear answer, Mark. Anything you can tell us that will make us find the culprit."

 

At the evocation of a ‘culprit' and therefore murder, Mark's eyes found their way to the officer's face. He looked terrified.

 

"A year… a year or so. But I knew who he was before, and we had worked on that one project before in grade 10," he suddenly chuckled, as if reminded of better times.

 

"We have been best friends for more than 10 years now. Our moms went to college together."

 

Huang Renjun showed a very calm and composed self, but his state was still worrying. He had shown no emotion at the news of his best friend's death. Considering the economic status of his family, he had no lawyer yet. However, this didn't stop him from answering the questions asked to him with frightening clarity.

 

Na Jaemin answered with the same clarity, but he appeared to show more compassion than the other boys before him. He was frowning and when the police officers went on giving details, tears pooled the corner of his lashes.

 

"As most of the student council members, I only knew him for a year or so. But he was a good person … Nobody deserves to die like this," at the end of the sentence, Jaemin's lawyer entered and stopped the conversation to talk to his client.

 

"I never really had the opportunity to talk with him or get to know him," Wong Lucas appeared shocked as well, but this didn't make him lose his means. He stood still on the chair. "We are… I mean, we were really different people."

 

"The only time I really talked with him was when he beat me during the school's student council elections. Otherwise, I only heard about him through other members," Ten Chittapon didn't seem that bothered. He was casually sitting on the chair, one hand behind his head.

 

"I only knew him through my boyfriend, Jeno. We… we didn't talk that much but every interaction I had with him was great," Jang Yeeun's tone was icy cold, and she was trembling. Her lawyer stopped the interview when she burst into tears after her answer.

 

The police officers were now faced with all the potential murders of Lee Donghyuck. One of them had killed him, as each of their DNAs has been found on the victim's body.

 

Now, they just had to figure out whom of Jeno, Mark, Renjun, Jaemin, Lucas, Ten or Yeeun had murdered the teenager.

 

And for that, they had to understand what had gone down during the senior year.  
  


\---  
  


_"If you actually beat one of these rich bastards, I'll buy you a year worth of junk food," Renjun was actually excited about the possibility of his best friend overshadowing one_ _student of this goddamn school._

 

_Election night had happened the last night of school, during the senior's prom party. This was made so that the elected body of students for the student council could work as soon as the new school year started, and gather already during the summer holidays to prepare the events they would host. Being high school juniors, Renjun and Donghyuck had to attend._

 

_"You better keep that promise because I'm confident," Donghyuck looked really enthusiastic and Renjun just laughed at his face, drinking one of those random drinks the bar served for students. All of those drinks were non-alcoholic, but the brunette knew students came prepared. He eyed one of the football players, Lucas, pour some liquid from a small flask into his drink._

 

_Donghyuck and Renjun didn't really belong to this private, international high school. They only had the chance to study here because of their grades and a generous scholarship offered by the school to "diversify" its students. As charitable as this idea was, it remained that Donghyuck and Renjun, just like all the other students who had had only been accepted through the scholarship program were seen as outcasts by the other students._

 

_Here, money meant everything. With a tuition fee of 5 digits a year, the school was mostly composed of sons and daughters of millionaires, businessmen, politicians and other movie stars. The white and blue uniforms didn't stop the students from exhibiting diamond jewels, horrendously expensive watches and other luxury handbags. Grades mattered, but money mattered more._

 

_So when Donghyuck ran for Vice President for the Student's Council during his senior year, Renjun felt proud of him. It would be the first time a 'poor' student would be part of the very exclusive council. He knew Donghyuck had a lot of chances to win, considering other scholarship students would vote for him and some rich kids were also fed up of the system._

 

_Renjun was about to drag Donghyuck to get some free mini canapés at the buffet when he saw none but Na Jaemin standing in front of them, a smile on his face._

 

_"Hey, Donghyuck and …?" he nudged the two boys with a small smile, looking nothing hostile or angry._

 

_"Renjun, he's my best friend," Donghyuck presented the smaller boy. The latter knew that his friend was as surprised as him to see Jaemin greet them._

 

_"Nice to meet you!" Jaemin was really talented at faking enthusiasm. "I just want to tell you good luck for the elections, I think the results are about to come out anytime soon," the young male seemed genuinely excited and happy about the outcomes. "I know that people say that there might be rivalries because most of my friends and I are running for the council too but I want you to know there are no such things as tensions," he added._

 

_It was still a mystery to Renjun how someone like Jaemin could be so perfect in all he did, that ever since he had been born. Everyone knew Jaemin as the school's sweetheart, the nicest person, the one with the best grades and the best looks. He was said to be extremely generous and understanding as well as deprived of any flaw. Even his appearance was perfect, with his stupid perfect smile, perfect big eyes with long lashes, perfect honey hair and perfect slender body. Gosh, Renjun hated him so much._

 

_However, Donghyuck didn't seem to mind and smiled back to Jaemin._

 

_"That's really nice of you to say all of this, I hope you'll keep these goods intentions for when I win the vice president spot," Renjun expected Jaemin to snap at Donghyuck when hearing these words but he just nodded with the same enthusiasm as before._

 

_"Of course, I'm sure we'll do a great job in the council," the possibility of Donghyuck winning over Jaemin's friend, Ten, for the vice president role didn't seem to bother the young male. "I need to go but I hope to see you on stage after the results!" and Jaemin was gone as fast as he had arrived, joining his friends' group. Renjun observed how most students, even the seniors, seemed fazed by Jaemin whenever they saw him. Gross._

 

_"Wow, someone should give him the Oscar of Best Actor for his role in "I hate Lee Donghyuck for maybe stealing the spotlight from my friend but I have to appear nice" movie," Renjun scoffed._

 

_"He's not as bad as I thought," Donghyuck took a sip of his drink._

 

_"Not as bad? What the hell is in your drink for you not to see how hypocrite he is?"_

 

_"Maybe I'm going to be positive tonight," Renjun's best friend sighed. "But don't worry, we'll get back on the bitching agenda tomorrow," he added with a wink to Renjun._

 

_\---  
_

_If there's one thing that Lee Jeno hated, it was not controlling everything._

 

_At tonight, he was not fully the master of his own fate._

 

_"Stop looking so tense, and smile for fuck's sake," Mark was already a bit tipsy, judging from the colour of his cheeks and his constant smile. Jeno sighed loudly._

 

_"I am not tense, I just hate the fact that one nobody is probably gonna steal Ten's well-deserved spot."_

 

_"First of all, nothing is done yet and second, he's not that bad. I'd rather have him than someone like Lucas' friend Sicheng to be really honest. He always sleeps in class and looks stoned most of the time," Mark's attitude towards the possible inclusion of Donghyuck in the council was enough to get Jeno's blood boiling again._

 

_"But he's not one of us," Jeno accentuated the last word._

 

_"And? It would be a nice occasion to have another point of view. Also, you'd be the first council president to have such a variety of teammates," Mark was really reaching out to make Jeno calm down about the whole deal. It didn't have any significant effect._

 

_"You guys are looking like you are not having fun," Jaemin appeared, looking way happier than the two males in front of him._

 

_"What were you doing with Donghyuck?" Jeno's tone was serious and not really opened to any jokes._

 

_"I talked him into not having negative feelings about us. Who knows what he would have said during his speech if he gets elected," Jaemin seemed calm when he took the drink_ _in Jeno's hand and emptied it out in one shot._

 

_"See, that's why Jaemin is the smartest of us. Instead of whining in a corner like you do he actually has two steps in advance," Mark laughed and it finally made Jeno relax a bit. Lucas reached them too, looking way tipsier than Mark already was. Ten was following him, a half-defeated look on his face._

 

_"It seems that I won't have the honour of serving Lee Jeno next year."_

 

_"Now that's a way of putting it," Lucas laughed, grabbing some food from the servers going around the room. "Don't be so dead serious, you look like you're about to transfer schools," he added._

 

_"How I wish I could transfer school if that... homeless dude wins over me," Ten sighed, taking Mark's flask from his hand and gulping down the liquid. "Man, what the hell did you put in there?" Ten looked at Mark with disgust. The other boys around him were already dead from laughter seeing their friend's face._

 

_"It's just a little cocktail of mine," Mark chuckled, hiding said flask when the director of the school passed by them to reach the stage._

 

_All the pressure Jeno had gotten rid when talking with his friends reappeared when the director announced that the results were out. The students gathered all around the stage, hundreds and hundreds of bodies squished together._

 

_Jeno and the other boys stood on the corner, listening to the elected members' names one by one. First came the ones without any official title, elected in their clubs or class._

_Then, the most anticipated members' names came. Mark got elected as treasurer and ran to stage with a big smile on his face under the applause of the crowd. Then Lucas was given the Public Relations position and almost tripped on his way to the stage, probably because of the alcohol. But because anyone loved their football's team captain, nobody bothered and kept on applauding. Jaemin got the Secretary role he wanted and once more, the crowd went wild for the male._

 

_Then, the dreaded feeling came back in Jeno's veins when they moved on to who would be the Vice President._

 

_"And the Vice President is … Lee Donghyuck! Congratulations!"_

 

_The crowd burst again in cheers and judging from Donghyuck's face, he was madly happy. Jeno felt anger boil in his veins and had to regain composure when he heard his name being called for the President position. He smiled and managed to deliver his speech without issues but deep inside, the sight of Donghyuck, an outcast, standing next to them was making him sick. They have all known each other for years and had done so much for this school, just to have a nobody enter the council they had dreamt to be in for so long. Jeno knew his anger could be seen as petty, but he knew that Donghyuck's accession to the vice president function was very symbolic._

 

_They all went off the stage after the announcement and saw everyone starting to dance, as it was getting late and the party had yet to start. Jeno saw Ten, who looked seriously pissed, come to them._

 

_"I hope you'll do a good job, or I'll kill you," he eyed Donghyuck and then left to the dancefloor._  
  


_\---_

 

 _"_ You do realize that you told the victim that you'd kill them if they didn't perform well in the council," the inspector eyed Ten who chuckled.

 

"Come on, I was pissed. Do you know how much I had invested in this role? My parents gave thousands of dollars for each fundraising, I threw so many parties and events just to be overshadowed by a nobody. You would have been pissed too in my position," Ten began to realise that this sentence could bring him problems.

 

"This was still pretty direct and blunt to say."

 

"I am a direct person. And also, I said this last year. So much went on since, and things worse than that happened" Ten tried to defend himself.

 

"Then tell us what happened after election night."

\---

 

  
_"So, south of France it is? You lucky fucker," Ten nudged Jeno from the pool house's sun beds._

 

_"As if you're not going to Venetia for two months," Jaemin remarked, eyeing Lucas handing everyone beers. A week had passed since the election night and the outcomes seemed to have vanished in the boys' heads._

 

_"Venetia is boring. I heard the south of France is the place to be to party in summer."_

 

_"Do you seriously think Jeno's mother is gonna let him party?" Mark joined in, lying lazily on the sunbed._

 

_"She probably thinks her prodigy son only held hands with girls, poor her," Lucas chuckled._

 

_"The audacity you have to insult my mother in her own house," Jeno laughed it out._  
  


_\---_  
  
  


_Jaemin eyed Jeno from his bed, looking at the male packing his clothes in one of the numerous suitcases he was bringing to Europe._

 

_"I'm going to miss you," Jaemin looked at the floor, not really reaching for Jeno's glance when he came next to him. "So much," he added, finally allowing his eyes to wander. The other male was in front of him, a concerned look on his face._

 

_"You know I'm gonna miss you too. I can't believe your stepdad wants to take you to some random countryside village in Mexico," Jeno sighed, looking to see Jaemin scoff._

 

_"He's the one with the money, so he's the one who decides where we travel."_

 

_"If everything wasn't this … tense, we could have gone somewhere together," Jeno finally sat down next to the honey-haired boy._

 

_"It's fine, we'll have all the time to enjoy during college," Jaemin suddenly took the opportunity to have Jeno next to him to sit on his lap, grabbing his shoulders with his hands._

 

_There it was, their little secret. They were in love with each other, and that as far as they could remember. Jaemin would always remember when he met Jeno during his first year at school when his parents were still together and life was easier than it was today. He had immediately found that the yet mayor advisor's son, Lee Jeno, could be a nice friend, and they had never been separated since then. However, they went from best friends to realizing they had feelings for each other after puberty had hit them. And they had decided to let these feelings free, with the only condition of keeping this a secret. They both knew that the news of them being a couple would be more than just a scandal within the school and the privileged community of the town; this would also mean breaking their families' hearts and hopes. No one, especially not their parents and their friends knew about their relationship._

 

_They knew they were playing with fire, but didn't know how to stop it from burning their hearts up._

 

_"Just one more year, and we'll be free to do whatever we want," Jeno whispered, grabbing Jaemin's waist with one hand and fondling his cheek with the other. They knew that moving out to college would mean they could start anew, without their families following their every movement._

 

_"Can't wait," Jaemin responded, placing a chaste kiss on Jeno's lips. "You should find a girlfriend during the senior year though," he added very calmly._

 

_"What the hell?" Jeno suddenly removed his hand from his lover's cheek, looking at him straight in the eyes._

 

_"Listen, people will question why you haven't found anyone yet. Get yourself some plain cheerleader, appear hand in hand with her a couple of times and break up with her at the end of the year," Jaemin spoke so nonchalantly Jeno wondered if he was serious._

 

_"And you're … ok with that?"_

 

_"Life is made of sacrifices and I'm willing to do this one if this means nobody will know for us," Jaemin sighed, resting his head on Jeno's shoulder. "Plus, if she's hot we could try threesomes."_

 

_"You're the worst," Jeno burst out laughing, passing his hand through his lover's hair._

 

 _"That's why you love me."_


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> here is the second part of the story!  
> enjoy ~

"If you had to describe Donghyuck, what would you say?" the interrogations were going on for a few days now, and the fatigue and exhaustion were visible on everyone's faces. The numerous cups of coffee sitting in the trashcan were also a testimony of the rough past days.

 

"I didn't know him for long, but he was really passionate about being in the student council. He knew his role came with responsibilities and since day one of senior year, he … he took it very seriously," Mark recalled. His eye bags were getting larger and larger each day and his parents had expressed the fear they had of him losing it. However, anytime the young male had to speak about the late Donghyuck, his eyes lit up with the last bits of life remaining within him.

 

_Senior year had started just like any year, except for the feeling in Mark's heart that they had made it, they had finally reached the last year of high school and would be leaving for better opportunities in less than a year. The feeling of empowerment of being both a senior and a member of the student council had made the young male grin's reach his cheeks when he walked through the busy hallways to reach the council._

 

_"Hey losers, ready to get this?" this was totally something Mark would say upon being in a good spirit and everyone in the room who heard this snickered. Lucas was half laying on his chair, his uniform already messy and his smile up to his ears too. Jeno was also there, looking more sophisticated and mature than when Mark last saw him before the summer vacations. Jaemin was in a corner, conversing with some other members of the council about holidays and plans for the year._

 

_Mark sat on a chair between Lucas and Jeno, enjoying the chatters and the chuckles in the room. He had missed this, the feeling of belonging that he couldn't really feel when he was with his family. His father only saw a potential heir to the family business in him and his mother, only a future husband and father. In no other place than with his friends, Mark felt like he could really be himself, a 17 years old boy with basic hobbies and even more basic essentials._

 

_"Now, is our dear vice president late on a first meeting? Do they not have watches in the slums?" Lucas scoffed and even though everybody knew this was such a sterile joke, people in the room chuckled._

 

_"Come on, riding buses is not a simple task," Jeno added. This was a problem none of them had considering private chauffeurs brought them to class every day._

 

_The door suddenly burst open and Mark raised his eyes to see the said vice president walking rapidly to reach his seat. He was a bit taller than he remembered and more importantly, had dyed his hair in a bright red colour. Mark would probably not have said this to his friends, but he had thought at that very moment that the colour suited Donghyuck exquisitely._

 

_"You're finally here, we were just talking about you," Jaemin moved from the corner of the room to take a seat between Donghyuck and Jeno. He had no animosity on his face upon seeing Donghyuck, but in most situations Jaemin had this kind look on his face whatever he must have been thinking. Mark had learned with the years that this didn't mean Jaemin would not be the first to judge someone wordlessly._

 

_"And I guess you guys weren't praiseworthy about me," Donghyuck scoffed, putting his hands on the desk. He didn't seem offended though and with one glance at his expression from the seat across the table, Mark saw the later seemed pretty excited and determined._

 

_"Let's get to work, shall we?" Jeno then sat properly and pointed to the mass of documents waiting for them. At this moment, Mark would never have imagined one second that everything would crumble afterwards._

 

"He was really thick-headed," Lucas answered the inspectors' question pretty bluntly. Beneath the strong features, Lucas was also beginning to grasp the reality, that someone had been killed and that he was on the top list of the potential murderers.

 

The policemen then asked him to elaborate on that, and Lucas thought about this second meeting they had had on the topic of the weekend the seniors would all go to to create stronger bonds. This weekend was a tradition for all seniors of each year and it was the student council's responsibility to host it.

 

_"No way we let the senior's weekend degenerate like what occurred last year," Donghyuck had interrupted Jeno who had been talking on the details of the said weekend that had been planned for the week after._

 

_"Come on, people just had a lot of fun last year," Lucas remarked. He somehow knew this wasn't entirely accurate but who was Donghyuck to criticize traditions of a school he didn't really belong to?_

 

_"Fun? You call ‘fun' a dozen people getting ethylic comas and a couple of date rapes? Are you actually out of your mind?" Donghyuck seemed pretty strong-minded when he listed the facts._

 

_"Does this mean you want the weekend to be cancelled?" Mark asked neutrally, wanting to get this discussion done as fast as possible. He knew that the members of the council were pretty tense because of the Donghyuck joining them, especially since numerous students seemed to rejoice about his position._

 

_"I'm not saying that," Donghyuck first stated, making everyone loosen up because nobody had been in the mood to fight for something so important, "but we should maybe limit the number of drinks the students can get, especially since none of us should be drinking at our age. The less they drink the less they'll make a mess out of themselves," he explained. His reasoning made sense but it didn't stop the members to scoff._

 

_"The amount of alcohol students drink is no one but their business," Jaemin argued, earning some approval from Lucas, Jeno and the other members._

 

_"Hope you'll have the guts to tell this to parents if some students die during the weekend, then," Donghyuck was pretty defensive now._

 

_"Don't be overdramatic, nobody has ever died during these weekends and no one is going to die during this one," Jeno spoke out, trying to lower the tension._

 

_"What do you think, Mark?" Donghyuck turned to the male in front of him who had not opposed his idea. Lucas eyed this interaction, rolling his eyes at how the newcomer seemed to have trust in Mark without even knowing him._

 

_"I … Well as a treasurer, even if we have the budget it would be wiser to reduce the number of drinks people can get so we keep some money for other events," he explained. Lucas scoffed loudly._

 

_"Why don't we also have some bible reading sessions to keep us entertained and chaste? This is getting ridiculous."_

_The entire room became silent because the highest members were all tense and the other members were scared of expressing their views. Lucas eyed how Donghyuck didn't really seem embarrassed by the whole situation, and mentally hated him. He had not been part of this school for the amount of time Mark, Jeno, Jaemin, the others and he had been, so he couldn't understand the importance they saw in their senior year_ being _as perfect as they had envisioned it to be. Perhaps, this was his plan, to ruin senior year for them. He didn't seem to bother about the school or the pride that came with it._

 

_"Guys, why don't we try to find a compromise?" Jaemin finally spoke out, being the only one who had enough composure to appear politically correct in this very moment. "Let's give everyone the same amount of free drinks, and if they want more they would have to buy them. This means that if they're really wasted they won't even be in their right minds to order and pay, and this also means we can also make profits without worrying about becoming bankrupt," he explained. The silence after his words was enough to prove this seemed to convince everyone. "Is this fine for everyone?" he asked regardless, and everyone nodded. "Great, end of the discussion. What's next on the agenda, Jeno?" he then turned to the President._

 

_Lucas had kind of gotten out of the discussion after that, glaring at Donghyuck who seemed to think this council was his. The way he had to intervene in every discussion, every decision was so irritating to watch. Lucas watched Jaemin try to find compromises, Mark not having a real opinion and Jeno bearing with the situation without knowing how they did it._

 

_The meeting ended late at night, and everyone was exhausted from the endless hours of debate and preparation for the following weekend. Wandering through the corridors, Lucas reached Donghyuck who had taken books from his locker. He grabbed his collar with violence._

 

_"You should use that big mouth of yours to find yourself a house, you fucking outcast" and then he pushed Donghyuck on the lockers, his body slamming on it with a ringing sound. Every high member of the council and even the other members saw the scene but they continued their way to the exit of the school._

 

______

  
"Donghyuck is … He's someone who's strong. He never let those council members have the pleasure to see him humiliated, as much as they tried," Renjun spoke out after long minutes of stillness. There were so many things that one could say about Donghyuck, so many great aspects of his gorgeous personality. However, the strength he had shown his best friend during the last months of his life was something that would remain forever in his mind.

 

_Renjun was waiting in front of_ Donghyuck's _house just like he did for the past few years, especially since they had gotten that scholarship to their current school. His best friend's house wasn't huge but it wasn't the slum everyone at school pictured. It was a normal suburb house with baby blue façade and a little garden Donghyuck's mother took care off during the weekends when his dad gardened at her side._

 

_Donghyuck finally appeared, his bright red hair combed and his uniform perfectly ironed. Had he not known how much his best friend hated the school, Renjun would have thought he was taking satisfaction in attending it._

 

_"Are you competing against Na Jaemin for the title of Mr School?" Renjun scoffed when Donghyuck and he entered the bus, sitting at their usual spot._

 

_"You're lucky you're one of the few people I actually like cause I could strangle you for those words," Donghyuck laughed it out. Renjun saw a couple of eye bags under his friend's eyes._

 

_"Is your love for me keeping you awake at night?"_

 

_"No, it's the hatred for those fuckers and the need to prove them right that makes me sleep so late. I have to prove myself to them and to the school," Donghyuck sighed, resting his head on Renjun's shoulder._

 

_"Don't push yourself too hard, Hyuck."_

 

_"Ew, being so sweet doesn't suit you. Where is the bittersweet bitchy Renjun that I knew?" Donghyuck whined dramatically._

 

_"You know what I mean! If they actually kill you by exhaustion I'll have to kill them all with my bare hands and you know that wouldn't be pretty on my student record," Renjun grinned, eyeing their school from afar. The students with their white and blue uniforms were noticeable amongst pretty much everyone._

 

_"I'd wake up from the grave to help you kill them too if that can save your chance to go to art school," Donghyuck scoffed against Renjun's shirt._

 

"You said he talked about being killed by the members of the student council. Do you think he meant it?" Of course, the investigators jumped on Renjun's words and it made the male laugh. It didn't make his interlocutors laugh in return.

 

"Of course he didn't mean it. We were joking," Renjun explained, and by this, reduced the suspicion the police had on Jaemin, Lucas, Jeno and Mark. "Donghyuck wasn't scared of them."

 

"Then, can you tell us more about what happened during the senior's weekend?"

 

______

  
_Jeno was walking through the school's corridors fast. The weekend was in less than 48 hours and he still couldn't gulp down all the changed Donghyuck had made them do regarding this event that most of the hundreds of seniors had waited_ for for _years._

 

_He grabbed some books to work at home and rushed to the exit of the building, knowing he'd probably have to come back to school, later on, to meet with the council. Balancing a regular student life at a prestigious school and a president status at a student council wasn't really easy, but he knew this would be the only way for him to be sure to be accepted into an Ivy League university next year. Throughout his entire life, he had known why he was doing the sacrifices._

 

_"Why are you in such a hurry, our dear president?" he heard a voice call him from behind and didn't even need to see the person's face to recognize Jaemin. The later reached him and walked to his side, looking like his usual composed and positive self._

 

_"How can you be so relaxed?" Jeno asked on a neutral tone, passing through the masses of students waiting for their parents or their chauffeurs to pick them up. Most of them seemed pretty intimated by the two seniors, even more considering their backgrounds and net worth._

 

_"Everything is under control," Jaemin smiled, controlling himself from grabbing Jeno's hand in front of everyone. "So don't be so tense," he then stopped when they reached the parking and faced the older male._

 

_"A lot of seniors hate the drinks ban we enforced," Jeno sighed, having dealt with resentment and comments from dozens and dozens of angered students who had planned on getting the best of the weekend._

 

_"For now we can't do much because people still love Donghyuck and trust him. But if we could find a way to discredit him … He wouldn't feel that confident about criticizing everything we enforce," Jaemin vaguely answered but the look in eyes said clearly something else. Jeno knew this look all too well._

 

_"You already have a plan, don't you?"_

 

_"Who do you think I am, darling?" Jaemin whispered, earning a smile from his lover. The weekend was going to be quite something._

 

"People say the aftermath of the senior weekend was what brought people to have negative feelings about Donghyuck, do you agree, Jaemin?"

 

"You know how schools can be, everything is over exaggerated," the honey-haired boy was looking pretty tired and drained out and still he looked calmer and more compassionate than everyone else.

 

"Three parents did complain to the school director about Donghyuck after this weekend, is this right?"

 

"Yes, things did not go … as planned during the weekend. And by misfortune, people blamed Donghyuck for what happened," Jaemin explained.

 

"Was he at fault?" the inspectors knew they were asking a lot to all these barely legal teens, but one of them had been killed and nothing seemed to point out a single murderer for now.

 

"I'm … I have been so busy with hosting the event and making sure everything was fine that I didn't really care for him during the weekend. We all trusted each other to take care of the job we had, especially during that night," Jaemin seemed lost in thoughts.

 

"Then tell us about that night."

 

_The music was loud and made Jaemin's ears buzz, but he loved the atmosphere of parties, especially the ones well hosted and planned. He might appear quite conventional, but he still loved enjoying himself on Saturday nights. All the seniors had arrived at the camping the school had rented for the weekend, and the party had been going on for a couple of hours now._

 

_Everyone had a precise role, given beforehand to ensure the event would go smoothly. Considering they would be going home tomorrow afternoon, all the students knew this party was the only opportunity of the trip to enjoy themselves fully._

 

_Jaemin eyed from afar Lucas greeting people and doing his job of socializing, helped by a couple of other students from the council. Mark was currently enjoying himself next to the DJ, blasting some songs where the bass made the stage shake, while Jeno was currently having a drink with a couple of other people after a long day of making sure everything went well. Then, the honey-haired male turned to Donghyuck who was at the bar, helping the ones who were serving the drinks and looking like he had a lot of fun. The boy's best friend, Renjun, wasn't far and Jaemin eyed how a good mood seemed to prevail during this starry night._

 

_Then, Jaemin went near the bar and was greeted by a couple of students and council members. He stopped next to Donghyuck, who looked pretty occupied taking care of the cashier and neared his face next to the red-haired male's._

 

_"I'll take care of the cashier, go help the others with the drinks. They seem pretty overwhelmed," he told Donghyuck and the latter just shrugged. He went closer to the other students to prepare said drinks._

 

_Jaemin then eyed Ten in the mass of students handing out the drinks to the thirsty seniors and motioned him to come near._

 

_"You're seriously making me stand next to this fucker? What is wrong with you?" Ten seemed pretty pissed already but Jaemin shushed him._

 

_"Don't worry about this and just make sure to give everyone a double dose. We're getting them wasted from now on. Just tell Donghyuck it's the usual doses," Jaemin whispered in Ten's ear and upon seeing the smirk on Ten's face, he grinned back._

 

_"My god, you might look like an angel but you're quite evil deep inside," Ten laughed._

 

_"I'm not evil, but he's been discrediting all the hard work we have put in this council. Let's see how he deals with wasted seniors," Jaemin just shrugged and continued to receive the money from the students._

 

_The more the night passed, the more students were starting to not walk straight and crumble under the weight of the alcohol they had drunk. Jaemin watched how some students were laying on the ground, looking pretty delirious, while the bathroom reeked of vomit according to Jeno who came to check on him at some part of the night._

 

_"Everything is going as planned, the double doses are getting them," Jaemin told him, pretty confident about the bass covering his voice so no one else would hear._

 

_"His face is priceless, he doesn't get why people are so dead drunk," Jeno snorted. He knew that as much as it was fun to mess around with the outcast of the group, everything was still controlled. There were a bunch of doctors waiting outside in case of an incident and up to now, people just threw up and took very bad decisions._

 

_"You looked pretty close to that blonde girl, Yeeun?" Jaemin glanced at Jeno's eyes, looking at him frankly._

 

_"She's all right I guess," Jeno answered, eyeing from afar said Yeeun. She wasn't drunk and seemed to have fun on the dance floor._

 

_"You should date her. People say she's a great girl and she isn't irritating," Jaemin remarked, referencing to a discussion they had had a few months ago. Jeno hadn't really tried to look for a girlfriend but tonight the odds seemed right and Yeeun also seemed pretty interested, judging from how she was basically devouring Jeno simply with her eyes._

 

_"Should I?" Jeno casually asked, not really interested but not really opposed either. Jaemin nodded, beaming at him._

 

_"Go have fun, I'll take care of everything here," he added, grabbing Jeno's hand and caressing it under the table. This made Jeno grin, before going to the dance floor to join Yeeun._

 

_"Jaemin! I think we should stop giving out drinks. People are really started to get crazy," Donghyuck came to see Jaemin half an hour later, looking pretty concerned. Jaemin sent him a bored glance._

 

_"If they're not yet done with their free drinks or if they still want to buy some drinks we still have to give them though," the honey blonde seemed really disinterested._

 

_"Can't you see how pretty much everyone is drunk now?" Donghyuck pointed out to the students stumbling, vomiting, making out or just looking in a bad state._

 

_"You know what? Deal with it, if you know better than us," Jaemin just said without emotion, before getting up from his seat at the cashier. "If you allow, I'll have a bit of fun. See you later," he added and left for the dance floor too._

 

______

"More than 10 students had to be transferred to the hospital after this one party, and three of them remained a coma for a week," the inspector enumerated to Yeeun, who looked calmer than the first days she had been interrogated.

 

"There's no one else to blame than Donghyuck," she started, looking at the wall behind the inspectors. "Everyone at schools knows that he just let people drink too much and put too much alcohol in the drinks, that's it. He's the only one responsible," she added.

 

The inspectors looked at each other, knowing that everyone else had given them the same answer. Even Renjun told them that he had felt like the ratio of alcohol and soft drink had been too much, but that Donghyuck had brushed off his comments.

 

"But, Yeeun, don't you think someone could have set up Donghyuck? To make him look bad? If we understood well, he was pretty popular before this," the inspector resumed.

 

"Set him up? I don't see anyone who would do that. Nobody cared enough about him for that," she snickered and then suddenly realized what she said. "This doesn't mean I killed him! It's just that … people liked him because he had been the first surprise member of the council, but nobody really knew him or liked him for who he was. We were pretty indifferent to who he was," she added. "But I have to admit reactions after the party were pretty hard," she ended.

 

_Yeeun has been hearing all morning about the wildest rumours about seniors weekend. It was Monday morning, and the seniors were all pretty exhausted and still a bit wasted when they came to class. People talked about the hook-ups, but most importantly, about how everything had gone nuts from the middle of the party until the end._

 

_"Our room reeked like vomit for so long even after we cleaned it, you can't even imagine," Yeeun's face expressed all the repugnance she had felt._

 

_"Some dude I don't even know even vomited in our room and then ran," Joy shook her head._

 

_"I feel so bad for Jeno and the other members," Yeri added, "they have worked so hard for this weekend and that nobody ruined it all," she continued, and everyone agreed. Donghyuck had been at the centre of the talks all morning because of the fact everyone knew he was the one who had messed up. The students at the hospital were another aggravating factor to the new hostility students had against their council's vice president._

 

_"I guess that's how they drink in slums and since their lives are miserable they just take alcohol better," Sana laughed it out._

 

_"Oh and speaking of Jeno," Joy then turned to Yeeun whose cheeks had turned red upon hearing the male's name. "Are you guys dating?" she added and all the heads of Yeeun's friends turned to her._

 

_"We aren't … yet. He said he wants to take it slow," she added, with a visible grin on her face._

 

_"Oh my god, I can't believe you're the lucky girl!" Sana screeched. "Jeno just doesn't date anyone, I'm so happy for you," she added, holding her friends' hands in hers._

 

_"He's so handsome, I wish he was dating me instead," Yeri sighed._

 

_"Yeri, you’ve been dating with Xiaojun for months!" Joy mentioned._

 

_"And? I would drop anything and anyone if Lee Jeno wanted me to be his."_

 

"Donghyuck didn't deserve all the hate he got after the senior weekend," Mark told the officers after having looked at his hands for long seconds. The memories of that night and everything else left bittersweet memories of better times where Donghyuck was still alive.

 

“Then, have you tried to reach out for him when he got what you said was ‘hate’?” the officers stared at Mark who took time to register their question.

 

“I… I did. I still don’t know if I managed to make him feel better after all that had happened,” Mark explained, remembering that night after the dreaded weekend.

 

_Being a senior, Mark had to balance his student life and the activities he was involved in, here the language exchange club. His parents had always taken languages very importantly, and Mark had to follow numerous language classes from the young age of 3. They said that knowing that many idioms would be impressive on a resume as if Mark’s future hadn’t been written out all this long._

 

_He gathered all his stuff at the end of the club meeting and passed through the library to get his books for tomorrow's classes. In the corner, between the scientific books and the dictionaries was Donghyuck, laying back on his chair, his earbuds in his ears._

 

_“Hey,” Mark joined him and waved from across the table. The red-haired glanced him and took off his earphones._

 

_“Now look who we have here,” he scoffed. Mark didn’t bother and just smiled. “What could you possibly be doing here at school at such a late time?”_

 

_“I could ask you the question back,” Mark placed his hands on the table, eyeing the sheets in front of_ Donghyuck’s _hands._

 

_“Some of us are not privileged enough to not have to worry about money,” he started, rolling his eyes. “I’m tutoring juniors to have a bit of money to, you know, eat?” he continued._

 

_“You must be mad smart then,” Mark remarked and his answer made Donghyuck chuckle a bit. Mark found the scene in front of him charming._

 

_“Of course I am,” Donghyuck passed a hand through his bright red hair. “And I better be at the top of my game because I intend to win the scholarship they give to the number 1 student to go to an Ivy League college,” he added._

 

_“I’m sure you can do it,” Mark encouraged the boy in front of him. Silence fell, the library_ being _almost empty at such a late hour of the night, and Mark eyed the exhaustion on_ Donghyuck's _face, as well as a certain sad aura surrounding the usually radiant senior._

 

_“I want to apologize for all the shit that's happening right now" Mark suddenly spoke, not courageous enough to look at Donghyuck directly in the eyes._

 

_"You're not responsible" Donghyuck took a moment to answer, and glimpsed at Mark with any emotion in his eyes._

 

_"Neither are you"_

 

_This made the red-haired smile, staring into the nothingness._

 

_“What is done is done. I just want to continue doing my job in the council,” Donghyuck said without sarcasm or laughter. He seemed really resolute on turning the page on the events that had occurred and all the criticism he was facing right now. “Wouldn’t your friends be mad at you if they knew you’re talking to me?” he added._

 

_“They wouldn’t. They’re not that bad, you know,” Mark tried to defend the people he had known for years and with whom he had always felt safe and accepted._

 

_“Well, if they’re not that bad, one thing that’s sure is that they’re not really talented at appearing friendly and welcoming,” Donghyuck remarked after the librarian announced that the library would be closing. He got up to pack his stuff._

 

_“Give them some time, we’re only 3 weeks in the school year,” Mark helped Donghyuck to collect his sheets of paper._

 

_They walked out of the library and the campus speaking about class and their daily lives, eyeing how nobody was there and how the darkness surrounded their usually busy and lively school._

 

_“Are you gonna pretend you don’t know me tomorrow at the council?” Donghyuck dared to ask Mark when they reached the parking lot._

 

_“Of course I won’t! I’m not like that,” Mark defended himself, eyeing how Donghyuck would have to wait another hour until the bus would come for him. “To prove my good faith, would you tutor me too? I’m going through hell with maths this year and if I fail my parents would literally kill me,” Mark suggested._

 

_“All right, but you better get those bills ready cause I only accept cash,” Donghyuck joked and laughter filled the empty parking lot._


End file.
